Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined
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University of Mississippi eGrove Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors Theses Honors College) Spring 4-30-2020 Nationalism Beyond a Nation: Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined George Ruggiero IV Follow this and additional works at: https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis Part of the Economics Commons, European Languages and Societies Commons, Other Political Science Commons, and the Politics and Social Change Commons Recommended Citation Ruggiero IV, George, "Nationalism Beyond a Nation: Non-Iberian Spanish Nationalism Examined" (2020). Honors Theses. 1578. https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/1578 This Undergraduate Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Honors College (Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College) at eGrove. It has been accepted for inclusion in Honors Theses by an authorized administrator of eGrove. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Nationalism Beyond a Nation: Non-Spanish Iberian Nationalism Examined ©2020 By George Ruggiero IV A thesis presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for completion Of the Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies Croft Institute for International Studies Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College The University of Mississippi University, Mississippi May 2020 Approved: Advisor: Dr. Miguel Centellas Reader: Dr. Douglass Sullivan-Gonzalez Reader: Dr. Oliver Dinius 1 Table of Contents Abstract 3 Introduction 3 Research Question and Rationale 4 Theoretical Framework 5 Research Design 6 1. Case Selection 6 2. Data 9 3. Method 10 Literature Review 11 Historical Review 11 1. Basque Country 11 2. Navarre 14 3. Catalonia 16 4. Galicia 19 Theoretical Framework 22 Data and Analysis 29 Conclusions 37 Bibliography 39 2 Abstract In this thesis, I explore differences between certain non-Spanish nationalist movements within Spain. To do this, I examine similarities and differences in economic, political, and cultural factors that may explain why some Spanish autonomous communities exhibit major nationalist movements and some do not. These factors include the presence of proclaimed nationalist political parties, strongly identified cultural identities, and historical elements that point to the existence of a non-Spanish identity or nationalist movement. Introduction Picture yourself in this situation. It is your first time going to Europe. You are alone and walking around the city where you are going to live for at least the next five months. You speak the language at a low level, and you certainly are not confident enough to approach anyone with any questions, no matter how minor they may be. As you look around your new surroundings, you start to notice that not everything is in a language you know; some things look very strange to say the least. As you walk through the narrow streets of the older part of the city, the sound of people speaking spills out of cafés and open-air restaurants. Again, you are reminded of this other language that people are actively using. This situation was the one that I was in when I first arrived in Bilbao in the Spring of 2019. I was quickly enamored by the Basque language and culture. I went as far as taking a Basque language and culture class at my host university in Spain. This is one of the first situations that came to me when I started thinking of what to write this thesis about. I was able to 3 feel the direct touch of the Basque people and their strong connection to their history and heritage. Research Question and Rationale In this thesis, I explore differences between certain non-Spanish nationalist movements within Spain. To do this, I examine similarities and differences in economic, political, and cultural factors that may explain why some Spanish autonomous communities exhibit major nationalist movements and some do not. These factors include the presence of proclaimed nationalist political parties, strongly identified cultural identities, and historical elements that point to the existence of a non-Spanish identity or nationalist movement. This is an important question to explore in the wake of the 2017 Catalan referendum regarding independence and the following reaction by the Spanish government. After the initial acceptance of the referendum by the Catalan Parliament, the Spanish government deemed the referendum unconstitutional in early September. In the hopes of stopping the referendum, the Spanish police raided the Catalan government’s office, confiscating voting supplies and arresting 14 people in late September. Even with Spanish police intervention at many voting stations, the referendum vote occurred on October 1 2017. 43% of registered voters placed a ballot and 92% of those votes were for independence. On October 27, the Catalan parliament voted in favor of a unilateral declaration of independence from Spain. 55 of the Catalan parliament members were not present at the vote as they deemed the vote illegal. Hours after, the Spanish Senate approved the activation of Section 155 of the Spanish Constitution (Minder & Barry 2017). This section gives the Spanish government the authority to dissolve regional governing bodies, take direct control of the region’s autonomy, and call for a new election, all in the name of protecting the general national interest. The activation of Section 155 sets a dangerous precedent, allowing the 4 Spanish government to quell nationalist movements in the name of protecting the “general national interest” (Spanish Constitution, Section 155). Theoretical Framework In this exploratory project, I outline the differences between the nationalist movements within Spain, focusing on the differences between nationalism and other possible forces at play, like regionalism, and, explore how culture, economics, and history affect contemporary election results. I define a nation as a socially constructed group or community that defines itself through shared heritage or culture (Anderson 2006). Nationalism is the ideology and movements that promote the interests of that nation. These interests usually have the end goal of gaining and maintaining sovereignty or self-governance. That shared culture typically includes a common ancestry, language, and faith. The Spanish political system is a decentralized unitary system with a symbolic monarchy. Each region of Spain is called an autonomous community, with a high level of local control, including police forces and lawmaking abilities. In the Spanish Constitution of 1978, written after the fall of the Franco regime, certain autonomous communities were designated as historic nationalities: Catalonia, the Basque Country, and Galicia (Pereira-Muro 2015). I adopt a political and cultural perspective that focuses on the ways in which nationalism manifests itself in Spanish autonomous communities through national identity, politics, and history. Economics are important to this study because of how they change how political entities, the Spanish government for example, react to election results, major party swings, and or economic downturns. Historically, Spain has not been kind to nationalist minorities, particularly 5 under the Franco regime. While the systematic repression performed by the Francoist regime is no longer in effect, many of those affected by the policies enacted during the 20th century have not fully recovered. Research Design This is an exploratory project. As such, this thesis is designed to pose a set of hypotheses, analyze data, and formulate conclusions based on that analysis. This project is split up into four case studies: the Basque Country, Catalonia, Navarre, and Galicia. The variables being tested are as follows: the dependent variable is the performance of nationalist political parties in the selected autonomous communities, and it is being used as a marker of support for the nationalist movements being examined; the two independent variables are the percentage of people that speak “Enough” of the regional language, and the GDP per capita of the autonomous community. A shared language is an identifier of a shared community, and each of the data sets used for this variable have a scale that measures language proficiency the same way. GDP per capita provides a look at the economic performance of the autonomous communities and how that translates to the individual level. The hypotheses being tested in this project are as follows: Autonomous communities that have a higher GDP per capita have more successful nationalist parties. Autonomous communities that have a higher percentage of people that speak the regional language have more successful nationalist parties. 1. Case Selection I have narrowed my focus to four case studies. I chose these cases based on the following factors: the presence of a shared, non-Spanish cultural identity, the presence of self-proclaimed nationalist political parties, and examples of historical elements that point to the existence of a 6 non-Spanish national identity or nationalist movement. I defined the presence of a shared, non- Spanish identity by the existence of a shared language other than Spanish. The first is the case of the Basque Country. Economically, the Basque Country is strong, with seven percent of Spain’s total GDP, and housing a hub of banking, innovation, industry, and natural resources (European Commission). Politically, the Basque Country is led by a nationalist party, EAJ/PNV. Linguistically, the region has a strong minority of people who are either fluent in Basque or passive speakers of the language (Servicio Central de Publicaciones del Gobierno